Air Force Physician Becomes First Military Physician to Face Court Martial For Refusing to Take Anthrax Shots

Air Force Physician Becomes First Military Physician to
Face Court Martial For Refusing to Take Anthrax Shots

Captain John Buck, an emergency-room physician at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., faces the military equivalent of a grand jury hearing within hours now -- a hearing that will, for better or worse, permanently mark the rest of his life and career. Starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, January 11, the hearing -- expected to last about six hours -- will examine the reasoning, both pro and con, behind Buck's stance that the military's mandatory anthrax vaccine program is illegal, and is harmful to the troops. If Buck loses and goes into a full court martial, he will be drummed out of the military, forfeiting pay, and risking imprisonment up to five years. In addition, each state makes its own determination as to whether or not someone who has been convicted in a court martial can practice medicine in that state.

"The anthrax program was a well-intended program developed to protect our troops from the threat of anthrax," Buck states. "However, it was built on a very narrow scientific foundation. The result is that military objectives are being achieved while compromising the practice of medicine. The vaccine was never approved for mass inoculation to prevent pulmonary anthrax. It should be considered investigational/experimental. Our servicemen deserve to be told the risks and potential benefits, yet ultimately be given the choice. Operationally, it makes sense to have a mandatory program to vaccinate all the troops to insure maximum survivability, but legally and ethically, I believe this encroaches on their rights as citizens and human beings."

Buck initially refused the shots last October, when he was preparing for deployment to Bahrain. His refusal is based upon his belief that the order to take the vaccine is illegal, and therefore he is not disobeying a legal direct order, an offense punishable by court-martial; and upon his concern that there is no assurance the vaccine will not cause long-term health problems in the troops.

For more information about Captain Buck's case, call him at (228) 875-7709. For more information on problems with the anthrax vaccine and a discussion of its legality, go to http://www.majorbates.com